About Us

A society formed in 2009 for the purpose of collecting, preserving, celebrating, and disseminating the maritime history of the San Juan Islands and northern Puget Sound area.
Check this log for tales from out-of-print publications as well as from members and friends. There are circa 500, often long entries, on a broad range of maritime topics; there are search aids at the bottom of the log.
Please ask for permission to use any photo posted on this site. Thank you.

04 September 2012

❖ Sidewheeler GEORGE E. STARR with Liverpool Tin ❖ 1896

"The steamer GEORGE E. STARR made the initial run on the UTOPIA's old route, viz; Tacoma and Seattle to Vancouver via the San Juan islands, last Monday. She left Seattle at midnight Sunday night and arrived here early Monday morning. She had aboard about 100 Chinamen, forty-five of them for the Island Packing Co., of this place, and fifty-five enroute to the Alaska Packers Assoc. Canneries at Point Roberts. The tin which has been expected for several days past, arrived on the Thompson yesterday; the Chinamen will at once begin the work of making the cans to be used for the seasons pack. The tin, which comes from Liverpool, England, by sailing vessel around the Horn, arrived at Astoria several days ago and came from there by rail to Seattle and here [Friday Harbor] by steamer LYDIA THOMPSON. The STARR will make one round trip a week calling here both ways, and will likely run all summer. The UTOPIA has been put on the Alaska route".The Islander, Friday Harbor, WA., April 1896At age 100, Joshua Green (1869-1975) was proclaimed "Commodore of all Puget Sound Fleets", as he looked back on the happiest days of his life, his steamboating for forty years on Puget Sound. The head of Puget Sound Navigation Company commented on the GEORGE E. STARR--"There was a faithful little boat. If you put a load on her, the side paddlewheels went so far down in the water she would hardly go ahead at all! She ran from Bellingham to Seattle. We had a full load of canned salmon on her and she was so slow that it cost us more to feed the passengers than the passage money amounted to. We had a peck of troubles in those days too. It wasn't all easy sailing."

BRISTOL (227502) 60' x 17.2' x 7.4' , Capt. E. W. Chevalier, working as mailboat when lost in collision in San Juans. Cold, wet crew but no loss of life. Some mail sacks later found on beaches. 1960.

CHICKAWANA (210031) Ol.s. 55.4' x 12.9' x 5.1' blt. 1912. Operated by Bellingham Transp. Co. for many years with a 4th Class Post Office on board. Lost to fire on mail run from Stuart Is. to Waldron. Owned by Mason Lewis. No loss of life. 1948.